Having worked around financial crimes for a number of years, I noticed they seemed to be on the rise.
One reason for this is technology, which grows more rapidly than laws designed to protect us from it.
Although the blog is a resource to educate people on identity theft, it also strives to educate the common person on the rapidly growing problem of crimes enabled (made too easy) by technology and the Internet.

Monday, December 18, 2006

When I saw the recent immigration raids in Colorado and all the "media spin" on them, I had a lot of mixed feelings about the issue.

Then I came upon an interesting editorial from an actual identity theft victim.

The Nothern Colorado Tribune published a story by Teresa Myer, identity theft victim and free-lance writer, which said:

As I learned of the immigration raids taking place throughout the country Tuesday, I wondered if one of those arrested was me.

Since 2001, someone has been using my name and Social Security number to gain employment as a seasonal worker.

In June 2004, I received a letter from the Internal Revenue Service, stating I owed more than $1,200 in taxes for "unreported income." The businesses that reported that I had been working for them included a pecan sorting facility in Deming, N.M., and several ConAgra facilities in Texas, Colorado and New Mexico.

The reason I had a mixed feelings about the immigration raids was because I have nothing against people trying to realize the American dream, but on the other hand, illegal immigration is becoming a big problem.

The problem is that an organized criminal element seems to be controlling their access to our dream and there are "greedy businesses," who benefit financially by not paying a "fair wage." There is also a substantial "social cost," when government services are being used to provide benefits at everyone's expense. And the cost has gotten so "high," some government programs are literally going "bankrupt."

Perhaps, if the "greedy businesses," were forced to pay for these benefits, hiring illegal aliens wouldn't be so profitable?

If you would like to read more about organized criminals providing other people's identities to fuel this problem, I wrote this post a few months ago: